Warm Up
by klutzysunshine
Summary: Future fic. Eve and Juliet Ward are dismayed about their mother's (surprise) pregnancy at first but gradually warm up to the idea.


**I don't own Agents of SHIELD and never will. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

For a few minutes, sixteen year old Eve and fourteen year old Juliet Ward couldn't process the bomb that had just been dropped on them. "You're what?" Juliet questioned.

"I cannot believe you're pregnant – and with twins!" Eve screeched. "Guys, we're teenagers. God, you do not want to see what I'm imagining right now.

Juliet wrinkled her nose up in disgust and glared at her sister. "Really, Eve? You want to put that image in my head? Please stop."

Skye and Grant's smiles refused to fade despite their daughters' dismay at the situation. "Well, deal with it because this is happening. And I am forty-six years old so this is something that shouldn't have happened but your father and I are excited. Life surprises you all the time so just remember that, I guess. Anyway, I am fourteen weeks along and the risk of miscarriage has been lowered and the three of us seem healthy so we decided to tell you. You have two siblings on the way so get used to it." And that's all she had to say.

Eve scoffed. "I can't fucking believe this is happening. I'm sixteen years old! You two are really old."

"Language," Grant warned.

"I'm happy that you and the babies are healthy," Juliet offered. But like her older sister, she thought her parents were way too old to do this. Her father was fifty-two year old! He was in prime grandfather age (or he would have been if they hadn't taken so long to get together – a story told to them many times by Bobbi and Jemma).

"Thank you, baby. That's very sweet of you." Skye stood up and kissed both her daughters' foreheads. "We love you both but please grow up and accept that this is happening. Your father and I were just as shocked – I thought it was menopause – but we got over it. You should too." Not wanting to worry Eve and Juliet, she didn't mention that this was a high-risk pregnancy (and Grant worried enough anyway for all of them). Everything seemed to be working out well at the moment so she chose not to focus on what could go wrong because she knew that everything would turn out fine in the end (Skye hoped).

"Are we going to have to change diapers and stuff? Gross." Eve would help out but she'd probably complain about it as usual.

Skye looked up at her husband. "So we're going to have two teenagers and two newborns soon. What are we getting ourselves into, Grant?"

He didn't have a response to that. "No clue sweetheart, but I'm looking forward to the chaos." He thrived on it.

"Of course you'd say that."

"Please don't reenact the conception in front of us," Eve complained when her parents moved in to start making out.

They glared at the interruption but let it go. "I wonder if I was like this as a teenager," Skye suddenly said.

Grant stared at his wife. "As a teenager? Sweetheart, as a rookie you complained all the time."

"You still fell in love with me anyway."

"Yes I did." This time, he refused to let Eve and Juliet's protests stop them and they started kissing right in front of their daughters.

"I wonder how you two don't have more kids." Juliet was surprised by this and also didn't want to think about her parents having sex. She needed something to distract her.

The two teenagers left the living room and headed up to their bedrooms and tried not to think about the fact they had siblings on the way.

* * *

Skye couldn't exactly say she enjoyed her first two pregnancies but they had been cakewalks compared to this one – she was old and having two babies at once this time so everything was magnified. Fortunately for her, her loving and supportive husband did everything he could to ease her various issues. "I am so lucky to have you," she murmured as Grant rubbed her feet.

"No, I'm the lucky one, Skye. Did I thank you today for giving me another chance?" He never understood why she had done so but he'd always be grateful.

"Yes, and you don't have to keep telling me. You're never losing me, Grant Douglas Ward."

"I know I won't." But Grant couldn't help but worry about her and the babies (actually, all four of his kids). And he refused to burden her with his irrational fears so he chose to keep quiet.

Eve and Juliet walked through the door. "So you two are still sickingly sweet. How are the twins?" Eve questioned. Although she still wasn't happy about the pregnancy a month later, the oldest Ward child worried about them. She didn't understand herself sometimes.

"They're great. Just kicking like crazy today and it'd be nice if they gave their mommy a break. You girls hear me in there?" Both wanted delivery surprises because they knew this was their last shot but Skye didn't have the patience and he couldn't deny her (he didn't have it in him, even after all these years). One of them responded by kicking Grant's hand.

Grant chuckled. "I guess they aren't listening to you today. Sorry."

"I can't wait until I'm a big sister. I'm going to rock this, unlike a certain someone I know." Juliet adored her older sister but Eve annoyed her ninety five percent of the time. She was fairly certain she did the same to her so everything evened itself out.

"Great, we're glad." After making sure that Skye didn't need him anymore, Grant stood up and hugged his two teenagers against their protests.

"We love you, Dad, but we just saw you this morning. You don't need to do this every single time we come home." Eve didn't want to admit that she still loved him doing this because she'd never live it down.

"This is cliché so don't hold it against me later but you still live under our roof and I'm allowed to." He grinned when both of them scoffed.

* * *

In Skye's seventh month of pregnancy, she suffered a scare that terrified the whole family. Grant was out of the country on a mission so it took him a long time to get home.

On her way to the kitchen to grab a snack, Juliet heard something smack against her parents' bedroom door. She opened it and found her mother pale and gasping. "Something's wrong. I need help, Jules."

A panicked Juliet quickly got out her cell phone and called for an ambulance. She sat down on the bed and held her mother's hand until the EMT workers arrived. "The babies are going to be fine, Mom. Please calm down," she pleaded as tears rose.

"I'm scared," Skye admitted with a sob. She'd never admit something like this on a normal day to her teenage daughter but the fear was overwhelming her.

"Don't be." Juliet tried to hide her shaking hands but wasn't sure she was successful. She nearly started crying in relief when the EMT workers showed up. She followed her mother into the ambulance and when they whisked her away, Juliet's knees buckled in the waiting room. Thanking speed dial because she wasn't sure she could dial, she called her grandmother first and then left a message for her father.

Juliet burst into sobs the instant Melinda showed up. She coaxed her granddaughter in for a hug. "I can't tell you that they're all going to be okay but you were brave tonight. I know it was terrifying but you called 911, right?

Juliet nodded. "Yes," she replied, her voice breaking.

Melinda brushed away her bangs. "I'm proud of you, princess. Juliet Nora, you've grown into someone I know is going to do amazing things for this world."

Juliet fell for the distraction. "I'm going to be a kickass SHIELD agent."

Melinda didn't even scold her on the swearing. "You and your sister both. You're following in our footsteps and there's nothing wrong with that."

"Thanks, Grandma."

"You're welcome," Melinda murmured, her heart breaking for the terrified teenager in front of her – Juliet reminded her so much of Grant in times like these. And she wasn't shocked when her granddaughter fell asleep on her.

The doctor came out about an hour and a half later. "Mrs. Ward didn't lose the babies," she started off and both sighed in relief. They learned that although all three of them were okay, Skye had to stay on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy just to make sure it stayed that way.

Grant burst through the door ten hours later and found Juliet curled up in the bed with Skye. "I scared the shit out of her," she explained to her husband when he frantically checked over her and all the medical equipment.

"You scared the shit out of me," he murmured. He sat down in an uncomfortable chair next to Melinda and Eve.

"All of us," Melinda corrected.

Eve spoke up then, feeling guilty for her initial anger over the pregnancy. "I'm going to go out and buy some cute outfits because have you seen how tiny those are? Babies fit in them! And I'll help out any way I can," she vowed.

"That's nice of you." Skye covered her mouth when she yawned.

Juliet stirred for a brief second. "I love you, Mommy. You too, baby sisters," she whispered and then fell back asleep.

"Since my daughter took my place, I'm going to say that I'm thrilled all three of you are fine and I love you so fucking much." He beamed when she grabbed his hand and held it.

With only a few months until the twins' arrival, the Wards had a lot to prepare for.

* * *

Just six hours after the doctor lifted her bed rest order, Skye's water broke. Eve drove her to the hospital since Grant and Juliet had gone shopping and even comforted her mother through some extremely painful contractions. She even stuck around once they arrived and chose to leave when it came time to deliver but Skye insisted her oldest daughter stay.

Eve thought childbirth was disgusting (and vowed to put it off for a long time) but she fell in love with her younger sisters the instant she laid eyes on them.

Juliet couldn't stop rocking the younger twin – Daphne Christine – back and forth. "You are so tiny and your head's shaped weird, Daph, but you're pretty awesome.

Eve snorted. "Her head's weird too but you don't hear me telling Fiona, do you? Oh, I have so many cute dresses at home for you, Fiona Genevieve, that you're not going to know what hit you."

"Our four girls together for the first time. Can you believe it?" Grant thanked Melinda when she snapped a picture of Eve, Juliet, Fiona, and Daphne.

Skye shook her head and snuggled into her husband as much as she could when he wrapped an arm around her.

Eve and Juliet may not have been excited about their sisters initially but they worshipped the ground Fiona and Daphne walked on already. They couldn't wait to teach the girls everything they knew.


End file.
